JANcich & hanDLEY

Ich bin Berliner

Sarah and I spent the last 3 days visiting Berlin.  It was a great trip and I finally got a chance to dust off my rusty high school German knowledge.  Most of the time, I was able to ask questions or order food in German.  But as soon as the person responded, I had almost no idea what was going on anymore.  At other times, my accent was so poor that I was picked for an American immediately and my German questions would be answered in very good English.

We flew out of London-Stansted this time around.  The airport is about an hour to east of London by bus.  I can't say much nice about it.  It was sort of a giant tent, literally, with airplanes parked outside.  If possible, I recommend Luton.  I think Sarah and I are airport snobs or something. 

Upon arriving on Berlin, I managed to have a extremely confusing conversation with a bus driver and we took a bus to the train station instead of walking only 250 meters.  There are two S-Bahns to Zoo Station, one express and one that stops at every station.  We got on the one that stops everywhere.

We stayed in a great little hotel called Hotel-Pension Funk.  It was once the residence of silent film star Asta Nielson.  The place was decked out with old furniture, high ceilings and double doors.  Some pics are up on the photo album.

For those of you who don't know, Germany is hosting the World Cup and the Germany vs. Ecuador match was on June 20, the second night we were there.  We headed to Potsdammer Platz in the morning and made our way toward the Brandenburg Gate and the Reichstag.  There was a huge FanFest going on around the Reichstag and Brandenburg Gate.  Addidas had even put up a mini-Olympic Stadium that held 10,000 people.  It was kind of like a Wisconsin Badgers football game.  People were drinking beer and eating Bratwurst at 10 o'clock in the morning.

We went on to Checkpoint Charlie and the Judisches Museum in the afternoon.  Apparently, I learned nothing at the Judisches Museum.  We went to the Jewish Community Center for dinner because they were supposed to have good food and it was near our hotel.  Sarah wasn't sure what one of the meat dishes was on the buffet.  I suggested it was pork...rather loudly...because I'm an idiot.  Anyway, I actually don't recommend the place.  It was kind of expensive and you have to walk through a metal detector and be frisked just to get in.

As for other food, we had great sausages and beer everywhere.   From hefeweizens to pilsners it was all good.  The FanFest even had 1/2 meter bratwursts. 

Germany won their world cup match on Tuesday night.  The city erupted in celebration for the rest of the night.  People were waving flags, singing and dancing on cars for hours.  There was even a pop-song anthem, "Deutschland ist Geil" (Germany is cool) that we heard over and over again.  (You can see the video here.  We actually saw the two guys in the video from the band Soul Control. They were singing the song on the back of truck outfitted with speakers that was rolling down Kurfurstendammstr.)

All the football fans left town on Wednesday and the city was much less busy.  We went Museuminsel and visited the Pergamon and Altes Nationalgalerie.  The Pergamon has completely a completely reconstructed Greek temple and the gates to ascent Babylon.  It is a great museum and a highlight of Berlin.  The Altes Nationalgalerie was one of the best art galleries I have been to in Europe.  Part of this in my personal taste, but the gallery was also arranged really well and the paintings and sculptures were not crowded onto the wall.  I really like landscape portraits and Germany has some excellent artists in this regard.   My favorites were Bocklin, Friedrich and Schinkel.

Because June 21 was the longest day of the year, Berlin has outdoor concerts all over the city.  Some were moving concerts, with a band on the back of a flat bed truck.  Others were on proper stages.  Our friend Silke showed us around in the evening and took us to some of the more hip areas of the city.  Believe it or not, Germans were actually dancing and partying in the streets. 

It was a great trip and I really loved Berlin.  It was nice to be in a city where the trains actually run fast AND on time.  Check the photo album for more details.  I'll check in again next week with more travel updates.

Next Stop:  Edinburgh

-K

An Ode to the Duf

When I spoke to my mom last week, she had terrible news; the veterinarian suspected that our beloved yellow-haired beast, Dufus, had skin cancer. I didn't take it very well. In fact, I cried.

I don't really know why I love that dog so much. She spends her days trying her best to blend in with the carpet in the most inconvenient places, just so she can enjoy your struggle to step over her. I think she likes it even more if she's able to trip you. 

She's a very lazy dog, too. When it's just my mom, dad and me in the house, you'd better have food if you want her to actually get up and come to you. Have you ever seen the movie Funny Farm? I think the dog in that movie is Duf's great-great grandfather.

But when "strangers" come over: look out! That's when the usually lazy, mild-mannered dog turns into a pyscho beast. My husband, older brother and sister-in-law -- even my tiny niece -- must prepare to get jumped on by a nearly 100lb dog should they venture into the house when she's loose. Most don't escape unscathed. Kyle usually goes home from a visit with my parents with several bruises and scratches from her toenails.

She doesn't do it to be mean. I think she just gets so excited about new people that she can't wait to say hello. Over and over and over. There might also be something to my mom's theory: when Duf was just a pup, my brother used to come over, rile her up until she became a whirlwind of yellow hair, then he'd politely excuse himself, leaving us with a crazy dog. Perhaps she learned then that vistors = crazy playtime. Kyle's got a theory, too. He thinks that if Duf needed to ride a bus to school, it would be a short one.

It's hard to believe she's more than nine years old already. My parents got her from the pound just before I graduated from high school. I think they were trying to make the transition to an empty nest easier. Little did they know they were getting a dog that would be just as messy, take up as much room and eat as much as their daughter who was departing for the U. of Missouri. My mom often looks at Duf wistfully, reminding us that she only wanted a lap dog. Duf could be a perfect lap dog, my mom would just need a much bigger lap.

Many are curious why we named the dog "Dufus." That wasn't always her name. When we first got her, my dad took her out on our deck and she promptly fell off, so we thought Gracie might be a good name. But Gracie seemed to prim and proper for such a reckless, playful dog. I briefly considered calling her "Sissy," since she was, in a way, the little sister I always wanted but never had. But when the dog grew ever larger, it became clear there would be nothing "little" about her. Throughout her puppyhood, Duf committed one stupid act after another: eating Kleenex (used, of course), stealing dish towels, knocking things over and scratching the floorboards with her toenails. My dad called her "Dufus" so many times that she began to recognized that as her name. And so it stuck.

Despite all of this, she is a loyal friend, so that's why her cancer diagnosis hit me so hard. She had surgery on Thursday to remove the tumor. Then the vet called my parents with good news: it was a stage-one tumor and he thought he'd got it all. Duf is sporting a six-inch incision on her shoulder right now, but she's survived to lounge on the carpet another day. And I am relived. She might be crazy, stupid and annoying, but *my* world is a better place with the Duf in it.

Happy Father's Day!

Happy Father's Day to the World's Best Dad! I wish I could be there with you today.

I love you!

-Sarah

Happy birthday, Miss K!

An adorable, very special little girl turns three today! She is getting so big! It just seems like yesterday that I was holding her as a tiny newborn....

The dog is pretty cute, too!

Jandley week in review

We've been keeping ourselves quite busy lately. Here are the highlights of last week:

1. Kyle took two exams. He only has one remaining exam, which is scheduled for Tuesday. He plans to spend the rest of summer aimlessly wandering around our apartment talking about how great it is to be done with school while I toil away on my dissertation, fighting the urge to punch him.
2. Kyle got stuck on a bus because a group of Russian dudes were fighting in front of the exit. Not good.
3. Someone asked me how to get to King's Cross Station while I was standing in (you guessed it!) King's Cross Station, in front of large sign that read "King's Cross."
4. I finished my internship, for which I was paid three lunches, a five-week bus pass and a bottle of champagne. They asked me to stay for the rest of the summer for more substantial pay, which I accepted.
5. Kyle almost had it out (again) with the electronic checker at the grocery store. It kept telling him to remove his "unexpected items from the bagging area," while he threatened to show it some "real unexpected items."
6. Our friend Guillaume celebrated his birthday.
7. My professors finally called off their assessment strike.  Maybe I'll finally get some of my coursework back from second term.
8. We walked two miles to that crepe stand we can't shut up about.
9. Some little event called "The World Cup" started. Apparently, Europeans love it as they won't shut up about it. ;) Did you know the US has a professional soccer team that's competing? I didn't until last week!
10. During an ice-cream-related outing to McDonald's, we saw an altercation ensue over burned apple pie and getting two McNuggets more than the fuming customer paid for.
11. A little munchkin celebrated her third birthday with a party in the US.

Love hurts

Kyle's first of four exams is tomorrow. He's been studying nearly non-stop for weeks; there are high stakes involved. His grades for the entire MSc program are almost completely determined by these exams.

I, on the other hand, have been programming in ASP for eight hours a day for the better part of four weeks. I don't actually know any ASP, so it's been an interesting -- and terribly frustrating -- experience.

Needless to say, Kyle and I are both a little stir crazy and punchy lately. So much so that we've decided to spend all of the time he's not studying and I'm not programming to completely annoy each other and start stupid fights.

For example...

Yesterday at lunch
Sarah: I got another run in my nylons. That's the third time in two days. Annoying!
Kyle: *eyes glazing over with boredom* Maybe it's your shoes.
Sarah: Maybe. I have a lot of dry skin on my heels. Maybe that's the cause.
Kyle: Maybe you should do something about your crusty feet.
Sarah: Whaaaa?! I do NOT have crusty feet.
Kyle: You just said you did.
Sarah: No. I said I had DRY SKIN. It's different.
Kyle: Whatever. Crusty foot.
Sarah: Screw you.

Fight #2

After dinner yesterday
Kyle:  Whose high school reunion are we going to? It might be hard to go to both.*
Sarah: Mine will be in October.** When's yours?
Kyle: I don't know.
Sarah: Well, let's look online and see if we can find out when the class of 1996's is scheduled.

*Many Google searches later, Kyle ends up on page listing all current SMNW faculty. *

Kyle: That guy's still there?! I hated him.
Sarah: How is this page helping you find out when your reunion might be?
Kyle: Whatever.
Sarah: *points to a teacher listed under "special education."* Wasn't she your favorite teacher?
Kyle: I did not take any special education classes, smarty.
Sarah: Maybe you should have.

Fight #3
RIght before bedtime last night

Sarah: Don't be all snotty just because the SMNW Class of 1997 doesn't have it's shit together on a reunion. I can't help it if my high school class is way more organized.
Kyle: Whatever. You only found information about SMW renunions for the classes of 1985 and 1995.
Sarah: You're just jealous.
Kyle: Yeah...well at least I wasn't a Wiking.***
Sarah: What the hell is a Wiking?
Kyle: It's like a wanker.
Sarah: That's dumb.
Kyle: Whatever, Wiking.
Sarah: I'd rather be a Wiking than a Crapougar.****
Kyle: Crapougar?!
Sarah: Yes. It would look great on a satin jacket. "Crapougar."
Kyle: Shut up.

Fight #4

Today at lunch
Kyle: Wiking.
Sarah: Crapougar.
Kyle: You can take your Crapougar and shove it up your Wiking.

* I have no idea why we were talking about our 10-year reunions, which won't actually happen until 2007.

** I actually have no idea when mine will be. I guessed October because that's what month my brother's was held in 2004.

*** My high school mascot was a Viking.

**** K's high school mascot was a Cougar.